


It Was Never About Us

by scarcelyMischievous



Series: Defector and Scoundrel [5]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Knights of Ren - Freeform, M/M, Naos Ren, Original Male Character - Freeform, Smuggler Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22222351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarcelyMischievous/pseuds/scarcelyMischievous
Summary: [Work contains spoilers to Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker][Sequel to "I Need A Pilot, You Little Shit."]It's been a while since Hux had gotten settled down in the Resistance. He thought things should be fairly normal, or at least as normal as a war and working with your previous enemy can get. However, he's noticed that something has been bothering Ben. He doesn't expect it to have anything to do with the scavenger, and he certainly doesn't expect the rage that follows.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo, Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Defector and Scoundrel [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/509181
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, The Rise of Skywalker came out. Let's see what we can work with.

Something that Hux had to repeatedly remind himself of was that he didn’t regret anything.

He’s been with the Resistance for quite some time now, and it’s treated him better than the First Order ever had. He’s met a couple of people that he could actually call friends, retained his position as a general and therefore his power as well, and on top of it all, his relationship with Ben was stronger than ever. He had finally found a place where his importance was genuine and not only based on military status. 

The only thing he occasionally missed was being on the winning side.

That isn’t to say that he didn’t remember defeats while being in the First Order. This was a war, after all, and they hadn’t been so lucky as to win every battle they had engaged in. However, they had had far more victories. They _did_ have more resources in every area, after all. The Resistance was not so lucky. They had always been the ragtag team whose main asset was its heart. Sentimental, sure, but not good against an army capable of planet destroying machinery. 

Hux looked worriedly over the shoulder of one of the Resistance members, Rose, as she was listening in on transmissions and rapidly jotting down notes. From what he could read of the sloppy words, things were looking dire. It didn’t help that the mission was a risky one to begin with. The Resistance was running dangerously low on supplies, whilst a new shipment of exactly what they needed was heading for a First Order delivery. If the Resistance succeeded, not only would they be perfectly replenished, but it’d be a blow for the Order as well. 

Because of how tricky this mission would be, they couldn’t afford to allow many people to go on it. Only two members had been sent out, and though they had a reliable track record, Hux couldn’t help but worry more than ever. 

Rose abruptly stopped writing, furthering Hux’s alarm. She looked over at him, almost tentatively as if she knew that whatever she was about to say would upset the general. “The communication was suddenly cut.”

Ah, and now he was upset. “What?! Is there any way to regain it?” he demanded.

Rose flinched, still not used to how harsh he can be sometimes. “It’s not our end that’s cut.”

Of course it wasn’t, that would make things more easy if it was. He was about to snap out again, but something stopped him from doing so. A calming feeling was pushing into his mind. Though weak, it was unmistakably a sign from Ben, trying to reassure him. Their minds have been linked for quite some time now, both of them feeling much better when they feel the other’s presence. It’s been so constant that its strengthened enough to be felt from impossibly far distances. 

Hux hadn’t been trying to make an open effort to reach out to Ben beforehand; his frustration must have just been that powerful (which honestly wasn’t a surprise). If Ben had the time to send comfort his way, the Hux chose to assume it meant he had time to cover his own ass. He was sure that if something was majorly wrong, he’d feel it. “You keep doing what you’re doing,” he told Rose. “I’m going to update General Organa on the situation.”

“Good luck with that,” Rose said under her breath, and had Hux not felt like he was in a hurry he definitely would have remarked on the unnecessary snark. But he supposed he couldn’t blame her; everyone was under a lot of stress, and the last thing anyone would want to do would be to tell the head general that her son was in danger. 

She had a strange intuition as well, though (or the Force, whatever). So, like Hux, she’d know that Ben wasn’t having his life threatened exactly. Therefore, telling her about the cut communication line should just be a simple update, nothing more. He let out a deep breath before making his way towards her. It was fine. Ben was fine. This should be nothing.

***

Oh, this wasn’t fine. 

Ben tried to flash his signature grin. “You sure we don’t look like cargo inspectors? Because I think we could pull it off-”

He was immediately met with the end of blaster to the face, making him fall back on bound hands. Poe Dameron groaned, and would have added his own quip if he didn’t already have a blaster pressing against his own head. Admittedly, that wouldn’t usually stop him, but Ben was already hogging up all of the obnoxious energy; if Poe added to that, the trooper behind him probably wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

The supply ship was supposed to be a subtle one that _didn’t_ have stormtroopers on it. That’s what was supposed to make it inconspicuous. That’s why the Resistance all felt so proud that they even found out this was the right ship in the first place. But of _course_ there were stormtroopers here. One might even say this was a trap, but it would make sense for the First Order to have some sort of precaution. They weren’t stupid, no matter how much Ben thought it.

“These two are the rebels that got away from us a while back, aren’t they?” the trooper behind Poe asked. 

The other trooper harshly grabbed Ben by the hair and pulled him back up into a sitting position. “The very same. The Resistance’s star pilot and Leia Organa’s son.”

Ben pouted. “I’m a pretty good pilot too, y’know.”

“Oh my god,” Poe muttered to himself.

The troopers decided to ignore anything the two had to say unless it was integral. In the meantime, they started to make preparations to take them in as official prisoners of war. Ben squinted up at the troopers, displeased at being ignored but deciding to take this to his advantage. He looked over at one of the crates he and Poe had opened earlier just to ensure they got the correct ship. In that particular one, there were several First Order-issued blasters organized very neatly.

He stretched out his fingers, testing out to see if he could get a grip on one of them through the Force. Slowly but surely, he saw a blaster slowly begin to rise up from the crate. He glanced back at the troopers, who were still talking amongst themselves, though still with their own blasters trained on them. This was going to be a little tricky. He glanced over at Poe, who had noticed what Ben was trying to do, but not letting his expression give it away. Good for him.

One of the troopers took out a communicator and tried to call over to base, but they realized something was off. "The communication is jammed."

"What?" The other trooper took out his own communicator, and Ben took this as the perfect opening. He pulled on the blaster so it now flew across the room, while turning his back on the troopers. Before the troopers could process what was happening, Ben had the blaster in his hand and shot at them both, letting the Force guide his aim. 

He still looked over his shoulder to double check that he actually shot them. When he saw that he was successful, he mentally patted himself on the back before shifting over to Poe so they were back to back. "All right, neat, now let's get out of these and take what we can back already."

Poe groaned as he and Ben began to blindly undo each other's bonds (thank god the troopers only had rope on hand). "Y'know, I still don't know why I keep agreeing to go on missions with you, I feel like I'll die every time," he remarked.

Ben laughed. "You're just upset that _I_ get to be the fun one when it's us two."

"You mean the 'insufferable' one?" Poe asked, before feeling Ben pinch his hand and letting out a small yelp. 

Once they were free, Poe stood up with a stretch. "Well, lucky that they had faulty equipment at least. Dunno what would've happened if they got in touch with the Order."

"Oh yeah. About that…"

Poe clearly didn't like the sounds of that, slowly turning to Ben. "What did you do?"

"Saved our asses, for one," Ben started defensively. "I messed with the communication, but I uh, don't know how to do it with specific targets, so… I kinda had to just do an entire radius to malfunction it."

"Entire radius?" It took a moment for him to process what that meant, but when he did, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Jesus. Don't tell me that includes ours too." 

"Okay, I won't." Ben began to see which crates he should grab first, but he accidentally caught onto something in Poe's mind, a thought so loud he didn't have time to ignore.

_/God, why couldn't they send me with Rey instead? At least she knows what she's doing./_

Ben's grip tightened on the crate. This wasn't new, him being compared to Rey. _She_ was the perfect one, after all. The one with all the training, the one who made friends easily, the prodigy, the one Uncle Luke trusted. Literally everything Ben wasn't, she was. Even if he did something good, it was never good enough compared to her. His failures were the things that stood out more than anything. 

He tried to shake the thought off and pay attention to the mission at hand. However, as he began to pick up the crate, he felt something else, and not a normal one in the slightest. He slowly put the crate back down and tried to focus on the feeling, letting it slowly guide him.

He stopped abruptly when he reached the far end of the supply ship. Upon first glance, it was just more crates. He tilted his head curiously, and raised his hand in front of him. Instinctively, it placed itself on a box that was smaller than the rest. Small enough to easily fit in one hand, really. What the hell was in this, and why did he feel such a strong pull to it?

"Ben!" Poe called after him. "We don't have all day."

Ben paused for a few more moments, before hastily putting the box in his satchel. "Yeah, I'm coming."

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

As soon as he got word that the Falcon was returning, Hux immediately dropped what he was doing to go meet it. Finn was already there, along with a few others, helping Poe with the stolen cargo. It didn’t take long for Hux to spot Ben - how could you miss him? He was taller than anyone there, rivaled only by the wookie. 

Ben seemed to feel Hux’s eyes on him - probably due to the weird Force bond they had going on. He met his gaze with a grin, only to falter into a more guilty one when he saw the expression on Hux’s face. The general marched his way over, and before Ben could embrace him, he held a finger up. “You know the rules.”

Ben chuckled. “Bad news then good news?”

“Precisely.” 

“Bad news, the ship needs new repairs because I had to forcibly cut off communications. Via Force. Haha, I just got the pun. Also I got hit in the face.”

Hux groaned and rubbed his temples. This man was going to be the death of him. He felt like he’s thought this before. “And the good news? I see you brought the cargo.”

“Lots of it!” Ben said proudly. “We’ve got brand new weapon models that’ll last us for a  _ long  _ time, as well as actual armor and some non-perishables. Plus!” His grin reappeared. “We captured two hostages.”

“Prisoners of war, Ben!” Poe called from behind.

“Hostages?” Hux repeated, completely ignoring Poe. They didn’t typically have anyone they could bring back for an interrogation. They could actually use this to their advantage, for once. 

A faint smile must've made its way onto Hux's face, because Ben was now excitedly bouncing back and forth on his heels. Hux rolled his eyes at the childish display, but opened his arms anyway. Ben was quick to fall into the embrace, giving him a much needed kiss in the process. 

The first few times Ben would kiss him in public like this used to always feel so inappropriate. Even a simple hug or holding hands felt like it was supposed to be off limits. But it was just another benefit about the Resistance and its much more relaxed atmosphere. Hux didn't feel nearly as cold or touch-starved as he used to back in the First Order. Here, showing affection wasn't seen as a weakness or a waste of time. Yet another change Hux didn't know he needed.

They pulled apart when they heard a familiar voice clear her throat behind them. Leia stood there with an unreadable expression. Hux couldn’t help but be relieved that if she had any fury, it wasn’t directed at him. Of course Ben was only all too familiar. He still had Hux pulled close, arms wrapped snugly around his tiny waist as he laid his chin on top of his head (he was always fond of making fun of Hux’s height even though Ben was only taller by  _ one or two inches) _ . “Heey, mom. You’re giving me a look.”

Leia crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. She stayed silent. Ben huffed, and Hux could practically feel him pouting. “So should I start this off by saying I’m sorry?”

“That’s entirely up to you, Ben,” Leia responded, her tone completely neutral. 

Ben hesitated with what he was going to say next, and Hux gave him a warning pinch to not let it be a smartass remark. Eventually Ben let go of Hux and offered his mom the hug instead. “Yeah. I’m sorry. Very sorry. But I did what I had to, and nobody got hurt!”

Leia sighed and stepped forward, but rather than accepting the hug, she reached up to pat Ben’s head. It was enough of an acceptance. “You’re spared for now,” she said. "Just go freshen up. You’re joining us for dinner.”

Ben deflated just slightly, and Hux had a good feeling as to why. Typically Ben would take his dinner and eat it elsewhere, usually with Hux in tow. But it’s not like this happened every single night. From what Hux had gathered, there was only one specific reason why Ben would be specifically requested, and that was when other guests arrived to join them. 

Said other guests were typically Luke Skywalker and his favorite apprentice, Rey. 

Personally Hux always hated their visits. Among all of the ‘heroes’ that Hux had been taught to hate, Luke was the one it still lasted for. At least with Leia he had spent enough time with her to give her respect. Even Han Solo had become more tolerable once Hux began to see that he’s where Ben got a lot of his personality. Luke, however, never seemed to pay much mind to Hux. He seemed friendly to everyone else, but there was still some obvious distrust he held for Hux. You’d think that the man who found light within Darth Vader would do the same for just a general. Though from what Hux could tell, Ben didn’t like being around Luke either, so he was perfectly fine with avoiding him back. 

Rey was less of an offense. While she never disliked Hux, per say, she still much rather preferred the company of Finn and Poe. Hux had no immediate desire to get to know her, so this was fine. 

He glanced over at Ben, and he couldn’t help but notice that he seemed more uncomfortable with the idea than usual. Before Hux could ask why, Ben did a mock bow. "Whatever you wish, your highness."

Leia raised an unimpressed eyebrow, but allowed Ben to take Hux by the hand and drag him away. 

Typically now would be the time for Ben to start making his complaints. He was never exactly shy about what he didn't like, certainly not around Hux. But Ben was quiet as they made their way back to their quarters, clutching both Hux's hand and his satchel strap with equal strength.

Despite seeming constantly annoyed by whatever Ben said, his silence was always far worse. Hux waited until they were finally back, the door shutting behind them automatically as they were left in their own privacy. "What is it?"

"Eh?" Ben asked as he gingerly put his satchel down next to his side of the bed.

Hux folded his arms against his chest. "Something's bothering you, correct?"

"Aw, why, did the Force bond tell ya that?" Ben asked, though his teasing didn't sound so natural.

"One doesn't need the Force to notice when it's someone you already know too well," Hux responded. "So? Out with it. I don't like when you pretend around me."

Ben opened his mouth, like for another smart remark, but closed it. He kicked off his boots and plopped down on the bed, wincing when his still sore head hit the pillow. "I didn't mess up too bad today, right?"

This was a bit surprising to hear. Compared to other mishaps Ben had gotten into in the past, this was rather tame. "I wouldn't say so," Hux answered honestly. "This has been the biggest advantage we've had in a while. I thought you'd be basking in this more."

Ben frowned and stared up at the ceiling, its light flickering above them occasionally. "Right. It's not as if I'm not happy about it."

"But you seem dissatisfied," Hux pointed out.

"I just…" Ben looked up at Hux and patted the spot next to him. He immediately took the cue and laid next to Ben. "I dunno. I guess I just don't wanna here the same old lecture again. 'Don't use the Force for things you don't know how to do,' or whatever. But I had to think fast-"

"You know you don't have to justify yourself to me, right?" Hux cut in. He was on his side, and Ben turned over to face him. He carefully caressed the other's cheek with a gloved hand, and Ben closed his eyes at the touch. "As useful as the Force can be, I think it's too much trouble to deal with. And you never became interested in training it again, so clearly I'm right to some extent. It's a nice little trick to have with you, but it's not everything." 

"Ah, always quite the optimist, aren't you?" Ben said, turning his head to smile into Hux's palm.

Hux rolled his eyes. "I'm a realist. Essentially, what I'm saying is that you already stand out with what you  _ do  _ know about the Force. There's no need to feel guilty about not being a complete master at it, especially when you have so many other skills to back it up." 

Ben hummed thoughtfully at that, and finally opened his eyes again, so big and pet-like. "You're not just being nice, are you?"

Hux couldn't help be scoff. "Since when am I nice?" he asked, but relief started to flood in as Ben's mood lightened. He was used to talking him through these moments of insecurity. Giving Ben whatever affirmations he could was something he'd do happily, knowing full well what it was like to be lacking in them. 

Hux then lightly patted Ben's face. "Now come on, the general did say she wanted you freshened up, and I can't help but agree that you need it."

Ben laughed, a sound that still made Hux's heart flutter. "Well aren't you the sweetest."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok good news i finally know where i wanna go with this


End file.
